Rockies' Weiss ready to get to work

Former shortstop is the sixth manager in Rockies history

Longtime Rockies fans know this. They can easily conjure up an image of Weiss as a gritty shortstop.

There he is, anchoring the Rockies' first playoff team in 1995. The front of his No. 22 jersey is caked with infield dirt. His cheeks are streaked with a mixture of sweat and eye black.

Funny that a guy born in Tuxedo, N.Y., is about as far away from black-tie as you can get.

"Walt was a blue-collar player, blue-collar all the way," said former Rockies teammate Dante Bichette. "He showed up every day, ready to go to work. He was the ultimate professional."

Now the down-and-dirty player is the boss.

On Wednesday, Weiss, 48, was hired as the sixth manager in Rockies history. He expects his players to commit to their job the way he did.

"My convictions on how we play this game are extremely strong," Weiss said. "I need to communicate that to the players, and that's what I will try to do. There is a right way and a wrong way to play this game. We will do it the right way."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi was a Weiss teammate with the Rockies in 1994 and 1995.

"I have no doubt he can be a good manager," Girardi said. "Walt has a very good baseball mind. We used to talk for hours about the game. Sure, he's an intense competitor, but more than that, he's a good person."

In 1993 Girardi was a catcher for the expansion Rockies while Weiss played shortstop for the expansion Florida Marlins. They met at home plate.

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"He flat ran me over," Girardi recalled with a laugh. "Make no mistake, it was a good, clean play at the plate. But the next day Walt called me up just to make sure I was all right. I was fine, but I still think that showed a lot of class."

Rockies veteran first baseman Todd Helton said, "I've never heard a bad word about the guy."

The nice-guy persona is outside the lines. On the field, Weiss is an intense competitor. Weiss' son Brody, a senior at Regis Jesuit High School, knows that firsthand. He has played youth baseball for his father for years.

Walt was in his second year as a Regis assistant when Brody was a sophomore starting shortstop on the Raiders' 2011 Class 5A state champions. Following Steve Cavnar's retirement, Walt agreed to move up to be head coach. Last spring, with Walt in charge and Brody as the Raiders' junior standout, Regis advanced to the Class 5A semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Cherry Creek.

"He stays pretty calm and cool, but you could see that the big games fired him up," Brody, who has earned a baseball scholarship to UC Santa Barbara, said of his dad. "I could just tell. He gets this look in his eyes."

With one look ...

Bob Gebhard, the general manager who signed Weiss to a Rockies contract, remembers Weiss as a player who could deliver a message without saying a word.

"One time, this young player hit a grounder to short and didn't run hard down the line to first. He just kind of loped," Gebhard recalled. "Walt never opened his mouth; he just looked at the guy. I mean, he gave him a really long look. Sometimes one look is worth a million words, because that player never loafed up the line again."

Weiss understands that the Rockies club he inherits has fallen to the bottom -- losing 98 games in 2012. Given Weiss' reputation for intensity, does he have the patience to handle big-leaguers who don't meet his expectations or his work ethic?

"As a manager, you have to be able to keep your emotions in check, because guys are watching you," he said. "I will be well aware of that. Hey, I'm more of a grinder guy, and my fuse is fairly long. But when I get to the end of it, there is usually a scene."

Weiss and his wife, Terri, have been married for 22 years. They have lived in their home in Franktown for 13 years. They have raised four sons -- Blake, 25; Brody, 18; Bo, 15; and Brock, 10.

Terri has seen her husband grow and change. She laughs at the memory of him playing the drums as he accompanied Bruce Springsteen tunes.

"Walt doesn't play drums much anymore, but Brody does," she said. "We have a batting cage in our garage, and that's where Brody goes and beats the drums."

Terri remembers the days when Weiss stayed in tiptop shape by practicing martial arts, becoming accomplished enough to earn a black belt in taekwondo.

"Ah, no, he doesn't do that anymore. His body doesn't let him," she said.

Baseball junkie

Baseball has always been at the family's center. After signing with Oakland following his junior season at North Carolina, Weiss played in 13 full big-league seasons, with the A's, Rockies and Braves. He was on a postseason team eight times, played in three World Series and won a ring with the A's in 1989 in his second big-league season.

After retiring from the Braves as a player following the 2000 season, he returned to the Rockies as a special instructor and adviser to the front office from 2002-08. He left that job to spend more time with his family.

Now he's back in the bigs.

"I have to admit, this is something I never saw coming," Terri said. "It's been very interesting, having been away from the game for almost five years. We had sort of a quiet, normal life, mentoring the kids, doing things as a family. It's been nice, but getting this job is something very special for Walt."

Son Brock, whom Terri jokingly refers to as "our retirement baby," was initially upset when he found out his dad soon would be gone most of the time because of his new job. But then Brock found out about the perks. For instance, his dad's new office is at Coors Field, which means that Brock gets to hang out there, too.

"I think it's pretty cool," he said.

Helton was a clean-shaven, baby-faced rookie when he got called up by the Rockies in August 1997. That's when he first got to know Weiss.

"With Walt, it was always, 'Keep your mouth shut and get the job done,'" Helton said. "You just don't have that many players that fit that description. I think he will carry that over as a manager."

In February, when Weiss gathers his new team together for spring training at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz., one thing is certain -- he will be true to himself.

"You can't fake it, because fake doesn't work," he said. "Players love real. They know it and they can smell it. I'm going to be real. That's the bottom line."

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